Vehicle seat system, especially for aircraft

ABSTRACT

1. Vehicle seat system, especially for aircraft.  
     2. The invention relates to a vehicle seat system, especially for aircraft, with seat components such as a backrest ( 5 ) and a seat part ( 3 ) which is bordered at least on one side by a console ( 9 ) which forms the arm rest, an arm-like operating part ( 13 ) being present which extends projecting at least partially above the plane of the head of the seat occupant ( 45 ), and has operating elements which are used at least in part to enhance comfort and/or which are suitable within the context of operation, especially flight operation, for this purpose. Because the arm-like operating part ( 13 ) forms a widening of the console ( 9 ) and extends forward proceeding from the area of the backrest ( 5 ) above the console ( 9 ) in an extension thereof, and because the arm-like operating part ( 13 ) is configured as a rigid arched support, an aesthetically pleasing solution is obtained which requires little installation space and saves weight and which can be regarded as a multifunction solution.

The invention relates to a vehicle seat system, especially for aircraft, with seat components such as a backrest and a seat part which is bordered at least on one side by a console which forms the arm rest, an arm-like operating part being present which extends projecting at least partially above the plane of the head of the seat occupant, and operating elements which are used at least in part to enhance comfort and/or which are suitable for this purpose within the context of operation, especially flight operation.

Conventionally, in vehicles intended for conveyance of passengers, especially aircraft of commercial airlines, it is of special importance that the seat systems are designed such that the available cabin space is on the one hand used in the best possible manner, but on the other hand a maximum of functionality and comfort for the seat occupant is made available. In order to meet the requirements to be set, currently conventional systems have a plurality of integrated, attached auxiliary devices or those mounted on the adjacent seat system, specifically on the back of the seat system which follows next in the direction of travel or against the direction of travel. DE 195 41 567 C1 for example thus relates to an aircraft passenger seat which, oriented laterally especially to an adjacent seat, is bordered by a console which forms an arm rest, from which a partition can be pulled out in the manner of a fan and which can be fastened in the position of use, in order in this way to create for the seat occupant a personal space relative to the adjacent areas.

Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,360 discloses equipping the center arm console of an aircraft passenger seat with a monitor instead of a partition; the monitor can be swiveled out of its storage position in the center console into the position of use by means of a support arm. The pertinent swiveling support arm can be fastened in definable catch positions and, in addition to the first swivel direction of its free end, enables another, second swiveling direction for the monitor. A comparable monitor swiveling unit is disclosed in EP 0 368 609 A2, in which a monitor which is connected to the free end of the support arm can be swiveled out of the position of non-use, formed by the distance of two backrests of aircraft passenger seats, which backrests are arranged next to one another in a row, forward into a position of use, in order in this way to make it possible for two seat occupants sitting next to one another to look at the monitor.

In the pertinent seat systems described, a complex design is necessary to house the partition and the monitor swiveling mechanism appropriately; this adversely affects optimum use of the available cabin space.

Accordingly, generic U.S. 2003/0064623 A1 proposes for an aircraft passenger seat providing in the area near the head of the seat occupant and located above or laterally on the backrest as an arm-like operating part a swan neck design, with an operating part on its free end, whether in the form of a lighting mechanism, or in the form of a connection possibility for a computer unit, especially in the form of a personal computer. The pertinent solution is advantageous in that the respective seat occupant is able to manually bend the swan neck into shape such that the operating part in terms of its position satisfies his ergonomic requirements. But it is not possible to obtain a multifunction solution in this way, and depending on the position of the swan neck, the pertinent solution may be perceived by the seat neighbor as disturbing. The known solution in the area of the top of the backrest also requires a large amount of installation space and in a practical embodiment is hardly pleasing from an aesthetic point of view.

In view of these circumstances, the object of the invention is to provide a vehicle seat system which makes possible improved use of space without having to accept for this purpose losses of functionality and/or the comfort afforded the seat occupant. An additional objective is an increase in possible applications in the sense of a multifunction solution.

In a vehicle seat system of the type mentioned in the foregoing, this object is achieved as claimed in the invention in that the arm-like operating part forms a widening of the console and extends forward, proceeding from the area of the backrest above the console in an extension thereof, and in that the arm-like operating part is configured as a rigid arched support. The arm-like operating part thus extends forward in seats in which the seat part is bordered laterally by a console forming an arm rest, preferably in the form Gfa widening of the console, proceeding from the area of the backrest above the arm rest. This solution is not only aesthetically pleasing, but is also understood by the seat occupants to be a seat component and is thus perceived as less disturbing, in contrast to the known designs with their attached components having an additional function.

In that as claimed in the invention the operating elements, as can be present in a comparatively large number in conventional seat systems, are moved into a rigid, arch-like component which is located overhead, a simpler and more compact design arises for the remaining seat components; this in turn contributes to better use of space without adversely affecting functionality or comfort. It goes without saying that an extremely large number of operating and control elements can thus be housed in the rigid arched support. Thus the arm-like operating part as operating elements which are used to increase comfort can have for example a beverage container or bottle holder and/or a handle to aid seniors or handicapped seat occupants in standing up and/or at least one storage compartment for travel accessories and/or a holder for positionally adjustable mounting of a monitor.

The positionally adjustable mounting of a television monitor on an operating part of the respective associated seat located overhead compared to the conventional mounting of the monitor on the back of the seat located in front not only has the advantage that the adjustability of the monitor offers a good view in any seat position, but in a particularly advantageous manner the wiring between the seat and the seat which is in the next row forward is eliminated.

Other operating elements which can be integrated into the arm-like operating element to enhance comfort can be a reading light, fresh air nozzles, or those operating elements for example which are used to improve the sense of well-being of the seat occupant by creating a private sphere. They include for example partitions which as a so-called “privacy divider” form a shield relative to the adjacent seat There can be a partition here in the form of a retractable shade which is connected to the arm-like operating part.

Operating, specifically flight operating elements on the arm-like operating part can be controls which are designed for adjustments, especially seat adjustments, and/or a holder for an oxygen mask and/or a connection for a multifunction control device which can be operated at a distance from the arm-like operating part and/or a suspension device for a headset and/or a marker for seat numbering and the like.

Indicator lights, for example to call the flight attendant, PC power supply and the like are also possible.

If the console is a center console which forms the arm rest between two seats located next to one another, the arm-like operating part which extends above the center console, if it is a double-seat seating system, can be assigned to the two seats which are located next to one another as an operating element.

The arm-like operating part is configured in the form of an arched support, for example in a curved shape, approximately in the manner of the segment of an arc. It can be a rigid arched support or an arched support of variable shape composed of rigid arched support sections which for example are configured in the manner of a telescope to be shortened or extended. In any case, in the configuration of a flexurally and torsionally stiff arrangement, the rigid arched support is configured as a support rail and is preferably rectangularly in cross section. It has also proven especially favorable in terms of weight engineering to make provisions for the generally rectangular cross section to end in a square cross section toward the free end. In this way especially increased strength in the area of the base part is ensured and in the head area of the respective seat occupant the support arm tapers so that a large amount of space is available there, for example for providing a monitor unit.

Depending on circumstances or requirements, the arched support can be mounted to be stationary or to be lowerable. The latter arrangement is preferred when it is a rigid, one-piece arched support. In these embodiments the arched support can be folded into the pertinent console for lowering. Alternatively the arched support, when it is coupled to the pertinent console in the area of the backrest of the pertinent seat, can be supported to be lowerable such that it can be retracted into the structure of the backrest by a combined swiveling and displacement motion.

The invention will be described in detail below using the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings in which

FIG. 1 shows a schematically greatly simplified perspective of one exemplary embodiment of the seat system as claimed in the invention in the form of an aircraft passenger double seat;

FIGS. 2 and 3, compared to FIG. 1, on a smaller scale show in schematically greatly simplified and drawn in perspective oblique partial views of two additional exemplary embodiments of the seat system as claimed in the invention, looking at the back of the backrest;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show oblique perspective partial views similar to FIGS. 2 and 3, of two other exemplary embodiments, but looking at the front of the seat,

FIG. 6 shows a partial view of another exemplary embodiment, drawn greatly simplified and in perspective on a larger scale compared to the preceding figures,

FIG. 7 shows an oblique, perspective partial view, drawn schematically greatly simplified on approximately the same scale as FIG. 6, of another exemplary embodiment with the backrest upholstery partially removed from the backrest structure;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic, perspective partial view, drawn approximately on the scale of FIG. 7, of the arm-like operating part of another exemplary embodiment alone;

FIG. 9 shows a highly schematic perspective, on an even larger scale than in FIG. 8, of another exemplary embodiment, only the area adjacent to the end area of the arm-like operating part being shown;

FIG. 10 shows a schematically greatly simplified and perspective oblique partial view, on a smaller scale than FIG. 9, of another exemplary embodiment, looking at the front of the seat, and

FIG. 11 shows a schematically greatly simplified and perspective oblique partial view, on a smaller scale than FIG. 10, of another exemplary embodiment, looking at the front of the seat.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of the seat system as claimed in the invention in the form of an aircraft passenger double seat designated as 1 as a whole. Of the seat components of the double seat 1, only the seat parts 3, the backrests 5 with the head cushions 7, a center console 9 which is located as an arm rest between the seat parts, and a carrier structure 11 are shown schematically. Moreover, the seat system as claimed in the invention has an arm-like operating part which extends in the form of a curved arched support 13 over a large part of its length above the plane of the head cushion 7. Proceeding from its back end which can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, designated as reference number 15 and connected to the carrier structure 11, the arched support 13 extends curved in an arc shape projecting away from the end 15 forward in the direction of flight, its extending in the main plane of the center console 9 above the latter, and in the embodiment of FIG. 1, as in the other exemplary embodiments shown, forming, as it were, a widening of the center console 9 located overhead.

In the solutions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the arched support 13 with its back end 15 is connected to the carrier structure 11 of the seat system. This connection can be configured in different ways, for example in the form of a fixed connection, which in an optional configuration can also be detachable. This is used to increase the modularity of the overall system. Alternatively there can be a lockable swiveling motion which enables the arched support to be folded down. As will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiment from FIG. 7, the arched support 13 with its end 15 can also be supported on a sliding guide which enables limiting swiveling motion and which is located on the center console 9 or the carrier structure 11, so that the arched support 13 can be retracted into the center console 9 or the carrier structure 11 and lowered into it by a combined swiveling and sliding motion. It is especially advantageous to support the arched support 13 with a capacity to be lowered or folded down when the arched support 13 is rigid. A fixed connection of the end 15 of the arched support 13 with the assigned structural element is however advantageous in the case in which the arched support 13 does not form a fixed component, but has a variable shape, for example by the arched support's 13 being configured such that it can be shortened by telescoping and can be extended into the position of use shown in the figures.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment in which the arched support 13 on its top has a holding device 17 for a beverage container 19 or a bottle.

FIG. 3 shows one example of the support of a flat screen monitor 21 on the front end area of the arched support 13, the suspension being made such that adjustment of the position of the monitor 21 around two axes perpendicular to one another is made possible such that the pertinent seat occupant has a good view of the monitor 21 for all possible seat settings.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which on the front end area of the arched support 13 a handle 23 is attached to aid seniors and handicapped seat occupants in standing up.

FIG. 5 in turn shows one example in which the arched support 13 in its front section has a compartment for housing of oxygen masks, of which there is one for each seat of the double seat system 1, in FIG. 5 only one oxygen mask 25 being shown which has been released from the compartment and has dropped down.

FIG. 6 shows a version in which the arched support 13 which extends above the center console 9 is provided with a shade 27 which can be pulled out of the arched support 13 and drawn down as far as the center console 9. In the position drawn down toward the center console 9 and shown in FIG. 6, the shade 27 forms a partition between the seats which are located next to one another and thus contributes to enhancing comfort by creating a private sphere for the pertinent seat occupant.

FIG. 7 shows a solution in which the arched support 13 on its top has controls which can be manually actuated in the form of push-buttons 29. These are controls as are conventionally integrated in the consoles which form the lateral boundary of the seat part in known seat systems. The displacement of these elements into the arched support 13, as well as the displacement of other relevant operating elements into the arched support 13, makes it advantageously possible to be able to configure the pertinent console, specifically the center console 9 between the bordering seats, correspondingly narrower; this makes possible a more compact design of the seat system without loss of functionality. This is of very great economic importance due to better use of existing cabin space.

FIG. 7 moreover shows the configuration of the back end 15 of the arched support 13 on an adjoining edge element 31 of the carrier structure 11. As already indicated above, the connection between the end 15 of the arched support 13 and the carrier structure 11 can take place by means of a combined swiveling and sliding guide which is installed between the wall part 31 and the corresponding wall part which is opposite the latter and which is not shown in FIG. 7, that is, the corresponding wall part of the carrier structure of the bordering seat, and which enables lowering of the arched support 13 by a combined swiveling and retraction motion to the rear.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment in which the arched support 13 has a slide-out compartment 33 for travel accessories 35.

FIG. 9 shows one embodiment in which the arched support 13 does not extend in the plane of the console which laterally borders the seat, but extends centrally above the pertinent seat. As shown, on the front end of the arched support 13 there is a marker 37 as the seat number.

In the embodiment which is shown in FIG. 10 and in which the front end of the arched support 13 is likewise provided with a marker 37, the arched support 13 is securely connected to the center console 9 on its back end so that the arched support 13 forms a widening of the console 9 which extends up from the back end of the console 9. The arched support 13 as another operating element has hooks 39 for hanging up headsets 41, only one hook with the headset 41 located on it being shown.

FIG. 11 finally shows one example in which the arched support 13 in the same manner as in FIG. 10 forms a fixed widening of the center console 9, but one of the two seats of the double seat 1 being moved into the horizontal position as a reclining seat 43. To enable the seat occupant 45, even when he has assumed the reclining position, to easily reach and control the controls provided for the seat system, the arched support 13 as an operating element has a multifunction control device 47 which is coupled to the arched support 13 by way of a pull-out cable connection 49, thus it can be actuated at a distance from the arched support 13 and therefore enables the seat occupant 45 to comfortably execute pertinent control and operating commands, even in the reclined position.

The rigid arched support 13 as an arm-like operating part is configured as a rail or support rail and extends rectangularly in cross section. Furthermore it is provided that the generally rectangular cross section towards the free end extends out into a square cross section, so that on its base part the arched support 13 is rigidly anchored and towards its free end with a tapering cross section still has the necessary stability to resist movement. In particular, this configuration is insensitive to vibrations. The arched support 13 is preferably made as a hollow section and in addition to a top side and a bottom side has two transverse sides which extend laterally at a distance. Both the top side and also the bottom side are made in the shape of an arc, the bottom side has a greater, especially concave curvature compared to the top side, the curvature of which is less pronounced, and which thus is made convex. The laterally configured transverse sides are made two-dimensional and extend parallel to one another spaced apart by the top and bottom side. In an embodiment which is not shown, it could also be provided that the bottom side be widened in the manner of forming a trapezoid; this further increases torsional stiffness.

As already mentioned, since all the operating elements possible for the pertinent seat system can be combined on the overhead arched support, advantageously it is not necessary to provide cable connections to the adjacent front seat, as is ordinarily necessary when electrical devices such as a monitor, telephone, and the like are mounted on the back of the front seat. It also goes without saying that on the arched support 13 there can be not only the operating elements provided in the illustrated examples, but any combinations with a plurality of elements which are mounted on the arched support or which are located within the arched support. 

1. Vehicle seat system, especially for aircraft, with seat components such as a backrest (5) and a seat part (3) which is bordered at least on one side by a console (9) which forms an arm rest, an arm-like operating part (13) being present which extends projecting at least partially above the plane of the head of the seat occupant (45), and has operating elements which are used at least in part to enhance comfort and/or which are suitable within the context of operation, especially flight operation, for this purpose, characterized in that the arm-like operating part (13) forms a widening of the console (9) and extends forward proceeding from the area of the backrest (5) above the console (9) in an extension thereof, and that the arm-like operating part (13) is configured as a rigid arched support.
 2. The seat system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the arm-like operating part (13) as operating elements which are used to increase comfort can have for example a beverage container or bottle holder (17) and/or a handle (23) to aid seat occupants (45) in standing up and/or at least one storage compartment (33) for travel accessories (35) and/or a holding device positionally-adjustable mounting of a flat screen monitor or monitor (21).
 3. The seat system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the arm-like operating part (13) as operating elements which are used to enhance comfort has those (27) which are used to improve the sense of well-being of the seat occupant (45) by forming a private sphere.
 4. The seat system as claimed in claim 3, wherein there is at least one partition in the form of a retractable shade (27) which is connected to the arm-like operating part (13).
 5. The seat system as claimed in claims 1, wherein as operating elements which are suitable within the context of operation, especially flight operation, on the arm-like operating part (29) there are controls (29) for adjustments, especially seat adjustments, and/or a holder for at least one oxygen mask (25) and/or a connection (49) for a multifunction control device (47) which can be operated at a distance from the arm-like operating part (13) and/or suspension device (39) for a headset (41) and/or marker (37) for seat numbering.
 6. The seat system as claimed in claims 1, wherein the rigid arched support as an arm-like operating part (13) configured as a rail extends rectangularly in cross section.
 7. The seat system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the generally rectangular cross section ends in a square cross section toward the free end.
 8. The seat system as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the console is a center console (9) which forms the arm rest between two seats which are adjacent to one another.
 9. The seat system as claimed in ene of claims 1 to 8, wherein the arm-like operating part is formed by an arched support (13) of variable shape, which is preferably configured to be shortened or pulled out in the manner of a telescope.
 10. The seat system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the arched support (13) is permanently attached or can optionally be detached.
 11. The seat system as claimed in claims 8, wherein the arched support (13) is arranged to be lowerable.
 12. The seat system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the arched support (13) can be lowered by folding it into the console (9) which forms an arm rest.
 13. The seat system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the arched support (13) can be lowered by drawing it into the structure (11) of the pertinent backrest/backrests (5). 